Athletics director Norwood Teague announced the decision Monday and said it was time for a "fresh set of eyes" on the program.

Smith was 124-81 (.610) in six seasons at Minnesota. He arrived in 2007 from Kentucky, immediately ramping up expectations for a team that was buried by an academic cheating scandal.

Smith won 20 games five times. But he went just 46-62 in Big Ten play and never finished higher than sixth in the conference. The Gophers made three NCAA tournament appearances under Smith. They beat UCLA this year before losing on Sunday.

The onslaught on Houthis rebels in Yemen continued Tuesday, with the Saudi-led coalition asserting increasing control while locals fled the chaos and casualties piled up -- dozens of civilians among them.